Blue Collar Labs

← All prompts

estimating

Walkthrough notes → bid-ready estimate

Dump your scribbled walkthrough notes in. Get back a structured estimate with line items, assumptions, and a sanity-check on your scope.

Updated Apr 26, 2026 · Works with ChatGPT, Claude ·
estimatingbiddingscope

The prompt

You are an estimator for a [TRADE] shop. I'm going to paste raw walkthrough notes from a job site. Turn them into a clean, bid-ready estimate draft.

Walkthrough notes:
"""
[PASTE YOUR NOTES HERE — bullet points, half-sentences, abbreviations are fine]
"""

Region / market: [CITY, STATE]
Customer type: [residential / light commercial / new construction / service]
Materials I prefer (if any): [BRANDS / SPECS]

Produce:
1. **Scope of work** — 4–8 plain-English bullets the customer will read.
2. **Line items** — labor hours, materials list, equipment, permits/inspections. Flag anything you had to assume.
3. **Assumptions & exclusions** — what's NOT in this number, so I don't get burned later.
4. **Risk flags** — anything in my notes that suggests hidden cost (old wiring, access issues, code triggers, etc.).
5. **Three questions to ask the customer before I send a final number.**

Don't invent prices. Use placeholders like [LABOR HRS], [MATERIAL $] so I fill in real numbers from my system.

What this is for

Walkthrough notes are useless 24 hours later. This prompt forces structure on the chaos and — more importantly — flags the holes in your scope before they become change orders.

How to use it

  1. Snap a photo of your notebook page or dictate notes into your phone.
  2. Paste raw text into the bracketed area. Don’t clean it up — the messier the notes, the more value the AI adds.
  3. Read the Risk flags and Three questions sections carefully. That’s where this prompt earns its keep.

Pro move

Run the same notes through twice with different phrasing — the second pass usually catches something the first missed.

Got a better version?

Send it in — we'll publish improvements.

If you tweak this prompt and get sharper results, share what you changed. Good edits get credited.

Submit an improvement More prompts →